A Team Effort
by CJS51703
Summary: There was a pretty good amount of help involved when Papyrus gave birth to Roxanne.


*****Hello, everyone! I wasn't even intending to upload this. I just found this going through my school Google Docs account, and I guess I must've written it during class. But it turned out better than other drabbles I do, so I figured: why not? I'll finally shut up. Papyrus, Mettaton, Sans, and Undyne belong to Toby Fox, Roxanne belongs to me, and let's go!**

Papyrus propped up his tablet to cook to read the recipe of choice for the night. Ever since he'd gotten pregnant initially, he'd had cravings that had made him scour the Internet for recipes that kept who he found out was his daughter happy. He'd learned the hard way that if he didn't obey, it ended badly.

But as he cooked dinner, his screen changed from a recipe to a notification that he was getting a video chat. It was from Mettaton. So, he picked up right away.

"Hello!" he said brightly.

"Hello, darling," Mettaton EX said. He appeared to be sitting in a hotel room, and plugged into his side was his charger.

"How are you doing?" Papyrus asked.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just got back from a show, and it's about two here in Amsterdam. What time are you on?" Mettaton asked.

"It's about seven. I'm just making dinner," Papyrus said.

"Well, I've got to ask. How's our little star shine doing?" Mettaton asked. He'd nicknamed their daughter, even though she'd been given the name Roxanne, star shine.

"She's doing well, according to Alphys. She's been... sitting a little lower than normal, and it's been a bit uncomfortable to get around... but the Great Papyrus can do it! And besides, I got hungry," Papyrus said. He switched the chat to where he could take a glimpse at the recipe for a moment, then switched back to Mettaton.

The robot smiled. "Oh, I wish I could be there by your side. Undyne and Sans being ever the protective aunt and uncle, I suppose?" he guessed.

Sans was the honest uncle, but Undyne—as close of a friend as she was—had been deemed the honorary aunt.

"Yes. But they've been helping me greatly since you haven't been here, and their efforts are appreciated," Papyrus said.

Mettaton's smile faded at that one part. About him not being there. "Papy, I... I really wish that I could be there. With you. I really want to be there to help you through. I'm just lucky that my tour ends in a month, and that a month before that is when you're due to pop. I'm very, very sorry that I can't be by your side," he said.

Papyrus turned away from his cooking, the sudden change in mood strange. "It's alright. You'll be home in a month! Then you can feel all of Roxanne's little kicks, and you can see her nursery in person, and you'll be home in time for her birth! That's what matters!" he said, his tone ever bright. He rubbed his swollen belly, feeling really uncomfortable then.

Mettaton saw his shift in expression. "Is something wrong, darling?" he asked.

"I... I just need to sit down. My recipe said that the food needs to be left for a moment anyways," Papyrus said.

He grabbed his tablet and sat down at the kitchen table, standing it up before he sat down, running his bony hand over his stomach. He internally pleaded with his daughter to stop pressing against him so hard, and to stop making him feel so uncomfortable so he could just make his dinner.

Mettaton watched with worry. "Seriously, are you okay? I can always leave you to rest..." he trailed off.

"No. Like I said, I just need a moment to sit down," Papyrus insisted. He rubbed at his face for a few minutes, honestly contemplating as to whether not he needed to put making dinner on hold to lay down.

But all trains of thought reached the station when he felt liquid gush from his area, and a sharp pain from the lower part of his stomach. "AH!" he yelped.

Mettaton jumped on his end of the call. "What's wrong?!" he asked.

"Th-there's all of this water coming out of me, and Roxanne's pressing down really hard, and it hurts!" Papyrus explained.

Mettaton's eyes widened. "You need to go to the hospital. That means that Roxanne's coming," he said.

Papyrus just about had a panic attack. "But she isn't due for two more months! And you're not home! And—and—OW!" he blurted, crossing his arms over his stomach.

As quickly as he could, Mettaton tried to think of an idea. "Hm... wait! Sans has those shortcut-things, right?" he asked.

"Yes," Papyrus confirmed once his pain—as he recalled from his appointments with Alphys, a contraction—subsided.

"So can he come get me in Amsterdam and bring me home? My tour manager can tell my social media sites to send out a message saying that the rest of my tour is axed. And if he doesn't like it, then he can kiss my shiny butt," Mettaton explained.

"He can go anywhere, but it runs on a delay, and it drains his magic. Especially if he teleports two people that far. I'll just get Undyne to drive me to the hospital," Papyrus said.

"I'll meet you there. I love you!" Mettaton said.

"I love you too!" Papyrus replied.

They both hung up and the skeleton forced himself to get up. The house phone was near enough to him, and he had to turn off everything from where he had intended to make dinner.

He had to stop a time or two, but he got to the phone and sat back down on the floor, leaning back with his legs bent apart. He called Undyne first.

"What's up?"

"You must come to my house."

"Why?"

"Because I'm having mine and Mettaton's baby!"

"...wait, really?"

"Yes!"

"Oh my God! So you don't have anyone to drive you to the hospital?!"

"No! Sans has to do something else! He has to go to Europe!"

"You've told me weirder! I'll be there in a few minutes!"

"Hurry!"

Then, Papyrus hung up. He had to stop for a few moments to wait out a bit more pain, but he got back to the second number he needed to call.

"Yo."

"Brother, you can shortcut anywhere in the world, correct?"

"Jeez, don't you people say 'hello' any more?"

"This is important!"

"Okay. But yeah, I can. Why?"

"Can you shortcut to Mettaton and bring him here?"

"As long as he's on the Earth, then yep. Why?"

"Because I just went into labor! Undyne's coming to take me to the hospital and you need to bring Mettaton here! He already knows that you're coming to get him!"

"Oh, God... okay. What country's he in?"

"He's in Amsterdam. Hurry!"

"Check!"

Then, both brothers hung up. Papyrus laid back down on the floor, feeling further pain in his stomach.

"Please, hang on..." he begged, rubbing his stomach.

"Just a little while longer..."

XxX

Undyne got there in ten minutes flat, kicking the door in. "Dude, where are you?!" she called.

"In the kitchen... um, floor!" Papyrus called back.

So, Undyne ran to the kitchen and saw Papyrus laying on the floor. She knelt down next to him.

"You can't get up, can ya?" she asked.

"I, the Great Papyrus... cannot," Papyrus admitted.

So, Undyne didn't hesitate to pick him up bridal style and carry him out the door. She didn't even budge when mess got on her arms. No, she kept walking until she got to her car and she helped Papyrus lay down in the back before getting in herself.

"Try and breathe steady, okay? It'll help ya get through the contractions," Undyne advised, her voice surprisingly calm.

"How do you know so much about this?" Papyrus asked.

"Do I have to remind you that I've got a two-year-old at home? I sat there through the entire time Alphys was in labor and held her hand. I picked up a few pieces of advice. Now, hang on tight," Undyne said.

She cranked the car and stepped on it.

XxX

Mettaton had just finished packing up his things. He'd been waiting twenty minutes. He knew that Papyrus said that Sans ran on a delay for such large teleportations, but he wasn't thinking this much of a delay.

Eventually, the short skeleton appeared in the hotel room. "Kom op, Metal Head," he said.

"Huh?" was all that Mettaton had time to say before he'd been teleported out of the room.

XxX

Papyrus wasn't sure what was more nerve-wracking; the fact that his daughter was being born so prematurely or the fact that Undyne was the one driving him.

Regardless, after forty minutes, they'd arrived at the hospital.

"Up we go!" the fish woman said. And, she picked Papyrus up bridal-style once again, not minding the strange looks she got in the slightest.

Rather, she just kept going to the hospital doors and to the front desk.

"My best friend's in labor. Howzabout you get him into a room?" she asked, her tone snappy. Papyrus just looked at the receptionist with a tiny wave and cringed.

The poor receptionist just stared at the duo for few silenced, shocked moments before calling on the phone.

Eventually, a doctor came to them. "Hello, I'm Dr. Pratt. You must be the patient. And are you his wife, miss?" the doctor who approached them asked. She had a wheelchair with her—one that Papyrus was happy to be lowered into.

"Nah, he's my best friend. I'm married to someone else," Undyne said.

"...alright, then. How long have you been in labor?" Dr. Pratt asked.

"About an hour. But I'm only at seven months, and my brother should be coming soon with my husband," Papyrus explained. He whimpered as he felt another pain, feeling the urge to spread his legs apart and just give in to push his daughter out.

Dr. Pratt's eyes widened. "Then we have to get you to a room. At this early, we don't know what could be done to the baby," she explained.

"Then step on it, punk! I'm coming with you, though. I'm a mom too," Undyne said.

Dr. Pratt began leading Papyrus off, making a note that her patient had a... strange choice in friends.

XxX

Half an hour later, and Mettaton and Sans teleported to the front of the hospital, appearing right at the front desk.

The receptionist jumped. "I've already seen a fish carrying a skeleton, now I get Mettaton randomly appearing with a fat skeleton?!" she exclaimed.

"Well, she's already seen the other two," Mettaton said more to himself.

"What room's Papyrus in? I'm his brother, this is his husband. To my never-ending dismay," Sans asked.

"Oh, shut up," Mettaton said.

The receptionist typed at her computer. "Room 1217," she said.

As Mettaton and Sans ran off, she made a note to ask to move to a morning shift.

XxX

Papyrus collapsed back into his bed, breathing heavily.

"Y'know, I didn't think someone without organs would need to breathe so badly," Undyne commented.

"Well, we do sometimes. Especially when a premature baby is coming out of the Great Papyrus!" Papyrus snapped, his voice going shrill at the last part.

Undyne held up her hands in defense.

"Are you sure you two aren't married?" Dr. Pratt asked.

"Yes!" both fish and skeleton said at once.

It was then that Mettaton and Sans came in.

"About time!" Undyne said.

"Shortcut delays," Sans shrugged.

But Mettaton ran over to the bedside and held Papyrus' hands. As badly as the skeleton had been hurting, it brought him into a small bubble of happiness for a moment.

"Thank God you're home," Papyrus said.

"I couldn't and wouldn't miss this for the world," Mettaton said. He brought Papyrus into a soft kiss, and the two held hands.

"If he did miss it, then he'd be car parts," Undyne muttered.

"Want me to sell 'em?" Sans asked sarcastically.

"Anyways, now that we're all here," Dr. Pratt intervened, "Papyrus, I need you to start pushing when this next contraction hits. We can't get your baby girl back in, so we're going to have to make sure she's alive when she's out."

Papyrus looked terrified. He was sweaty and tired, and he just wanted to know that his daughter would be safe. But he looked around.

His husband was holding one hand, his brother was holding the other, and his best friend was there as well.

"I am the Great Papyrus. And I can do this," he said.

"Atta boy!" Undyne said proudly.

"It will take a few pushes, but the little girl will come soon," Dr. Pratt assured. She bent down to where she could see up Papyrus' hospital gown.

"Jeez, and I thought you were married..." Sans said.

"I would hit y—AHH!" Papyrus cried mid-sentence. He bent forward and tried pushing as hard as he could. He had to do this. It was a few minutes, but he did get a break. "Oh... oh God..." he trailed off.

"That was really good. A few more like that, and you'll be set," Dr. Pratt said.

Mettaton gently hugged him, kissing the side of his skull. "We almost have our baby girl, honey," he said softly.

Papyrus nodded, a tired smile on his face. "Just... keep holding my hand, okay?" he said. He looked to his opposite side. "And you too, Sans." And he looked beyond Sans. "And Undyne, just... keep cheering me on, okay? It means a lot to the Great Papyrus to have such a support team," he said.

Sans, Undyne, and Mettaton looked at each other with a shared smile. They may not have gotten along, but they all had one thing in common. Papyrus. They all cared about him. As a brother, a friend, a husband. And they all were here to support him as he gave birth to his first child.

And they continued to support him as he had another contraction, this one actually bringing him to scream from how badly it hurt.

About twenty minutes later, he got words he wanted to hear. "Just one more push," Dr. Pratt said.

So, Papyrus gave one more push. And he finally got sweet relief. The room fell oddly silent.

"Hey, why ain't she crying? I've been through this before!" Undyne snapped.

"That's the problem," Dr. Pratt said. Then, without another word, she left the room quickly.

The four monsters stared at each other in shock. At last, Papyrus sank down in his bed.

"D... darling?" Mettaton said.

But Papyrus didn't speak. He moved over a bit and patted the space next to him.

So, Mettaton laid next to him, careful not to touch to mess of what he knew was the result of childbirth, allowing Papyrus to hug onto him.

"...I'm going after the doctor and getting some news," Undyne said. She started to run off, but her SOUL was turned blue in her chest so she couldn't.

Sans pulled her back over before releasing the effect. "Wait. Don't do it. We gotta be here for Paps," he said.

"But let's just let him sleep for now. The poor darling just spent two hours in labor, he's already asleep," Mettaton said.

Sure enough, Papyrus had fallen asleep.

Sans and Undyne sat down in two chairs in the room. They all wanted answers that they knew they couldn't get.

XxX

About two hours later, the door opened up. All four monsters had dozed off; it was late, after all.

"Excuse me, but I have news about your daughter," Dr. Pratt said.

Mettaton, because Alphys had given him ridiculously-good hearing, woke up first. "Guys!" he said.

Undyne woke up next, then Papyrus. And Sans was woken up via Undyne's jackslap.

"Where's Roxanne?" Papyrus asked. He was evidently still in need of rest, and still weak.

"I have good news and bad news. You were very, very lucky. Your daughter was hanging on by a thread. But she was saved. She's still alive. However, she did suffer some nerve damage in her ears. And she'll never be able to hear. I recommend you learn sign language, or at least teach her to read lips for communication," Dr. Pratt explained.

It was a bit sad that the baby would never be able to hear, but it was even more of a miracle to know that she was alive.

"Tibia honest, we're just happy she's still here," Sans shrugged.

It was then that a male nurse came in. "I'm sorry, I got a bit lost. But, here's your baby girl. She's quite cute," he said.

Little Roxanne was still wailing; she perhaps knew that she was in the arms of a stranger.

Papyrus finally, finally got to hold his daughter. He felt hot, orange tears run down his face. "And to think that I said that I wouldn't cry..." he mumbled.

"It's okay. I cried too," Undyne said.

"She can be out of the incubator for an hour at a time. We'll be back then," Dr. Pratt said. Then, she and the nurse left.

Papyrus held Roxanne close to his chest. He pressed his bony mouth against her forehead. She had stopped crying and had looks at everyone around her.

"My niece looks pretty good," Sans said.

Roxanne was mostly robotic, by the looks of it. She was silver with the start of black hair. But she had eye sockets, and tiny skeletal fingers poked out from the pink blanket she was bundled in.

"She's so tiny..." Mettaton said, his voice so soft and high-pitched.

"She's our daughter, Metta," Papyrus said, still crying.

"My niece," Sans chimed in.

"My honorary niece," Undyne added, giving the dumpy skeleton a high-five.

"You don't need to cry, darling," Mettaton said, wiping away orange tears.

Papyrus sniffled, smiling. "You all helped to get her here to-night. Brother, you brought Mettaton here from Amsterdam. Undyne, you helped me get to the hospital. And you all helped me. And now, we have Roxanne," he said.

"Guess you're the Great Father Papyrus, huh?" Undyne said.

Papyrus smiled at Roxanne in his arms, rubbing his thumb against her cheek.

"I... guess I am."

*****And there you have it. Don't be too harsh on my BS medical knowledge, okay? Be sure to a review on the way out and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!**


End file.
